West Ham offer £25,000 reward for information after 'extremely distressing' incident on Saturday

West Ham are offering a £25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of burglars who broke into defender Kurt Zouma’s home on Saturday.

Ahead of their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace this past weekend, Zouma's home was broken into while all of his family were in the house.

The incident left those present "extremely distressed", according to a statement on West Ham's official website.

"While thankfully no one was harmed, it was a traumatic experience for the West Ham defender, his wife and their young family," they added.

The burglars are believed to have took items of significant value and of huge personal and sentimental importance to the family.

The Sun claim £100,000 in cash and jewellery was stolen by the "organised gang" at his £3 million home in Essex.

One neighbour that was visited by officers on Sunday said the burglars were "quite experienced".

They said: “Officers came round on Sunday and told us that the burglars were professionals. They said we want to tell you that they were not amateurs.

“They said the break-in had been on the ground floor and to watch out for that. We think that they came in through the back garden.

“We have security on this road - a guard that patrols here day and night and he was only parked a few driveways away when the break-in happened.

“He can only see the front so if he didn’t see anything they must have got in through the back.”

Image credit: Getty

West Ham say they are continuing to offer Zouma's family their full support, while joint-chairman David Sullivan has encouraged anyone with information relating to the identity of the burglars to come forward.

Sullivan said: “First and foremost, the thoughts of everyone connected to West Ham United are with Kurt and his family.

"To have someone break into your home is a terrifying experience and I hope this reward will help bring the individuals to justice and prevent others from going through a similar ordeal.”

Anyone who has any relevant information have been told to email [email protected] with as much detail as possible, which will then be shared with the police.